B&W 600 Series v. Aperion Audio 5.1 System

[Seanm1234]

OK, So I was all decided on speakers; B&W 600 series 5.1 set up and then I got wind of the Aperion Audio 5.1 set up and it seems like a hell of a deal.

Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with the Aperion? They seem to be very highly rated but I'm not sure how they compare with the B&W line that I'm looking at.

It looks like I can get the complete Aperion package for about $1600 with stands and cables (no tax) whereas, I would be spending at least $1900 (plus tax) for the B&W system, no stands.

Obviously the sound of the speakers is the most important factor and that is fairly subjective but I'd like a to know people's thoughts about the overall build quality and engineering of the products when compared side by side. I do have plenty of experiance with the B&W 600's and I am very happy with them by the way.

Thanks

[Peter Duminy]

Well, I am slightly biased to B&W as I am previous R&D Staff with them before coming to Vancouver. I think it is one of those "preference" things in brandname and overall sound. You really need to hear both systems running side by side in your own home before deciding. The technology between B&W and Aperion is considerable. For example, Kevlar woofers and aluminum dome tweeters with multi-element crossovers for B&W, vs. Polypropylene woofers, soft silk dome tweeters with a Di-Aural minimilist crossover for Aperion. You do get a nice real wood veneer on the Aperions, whereas the B&W 600 series are a high quality vinyl wrap. Just let your ears decide which sounds more enjoyable.

[kexodusc]

The technology between B&W and Aperion is considerable. For example, Kevlar woofers and aluminum dome tweeters with multi-element crossovers for B&W, vs. Polypropylene woofers, soft silk dome tweeters with a Di-Aural minimilist crossover for Aperion. You do get a nice real wood veneer on the Aperions, whereas the B&W 600 series are a high quality vinyl wrap. Just let your ears decide which sounds more enjoyable.

The material of the drivers tells almost nothing about the sound you can expect.
I'm not sure exactly what the benefits of a "mulit-element" crossover over Aperion's in-series DiAural desings would be either, but you can ignore Aperion's claims that "typical" crossovers are fraught with distortion. That's rediculous.

I've never heard Aperion, but B&W generally makes excellent speakers. I would strongly recommend against buying a speaker you cannot hear first, especially head-to-head against your other choices.

[Timster 7]

Spend the few extra bucks on the B&W's. I listened to just about everything out there before going with the B&W 601's and 600's. For the price level, I don't think there is anything out there that touches them regarding build quality. However, I do think speakers have more to do with personal taste than anything, and my taste leans towards the sound of the B&W's.

One of the other deciding factors for me was resale value. As you probably know, B&W's hold there value like Toyotas with low miles. If you keep an eye on ebay, some people are getting what the paid for the 600 series originally. I had a friend that bought the 601 S2 new for $350.00 and sold them four years later for $285.00. Anyway - hope all goes well.

[Peter Duminy]

I must agree with kexodusc about crossovers. At no time at B&W did we find the distortion to be higher on one design versus another, providing of course high quality components were used. B&W tend to use air core coils and Polycaps on nearly all their models with great success.

[jfondell]

I bought Aperion Audio's 12 inch subs and they are great. I compared them to alot of other products during the 30 day free trial period that Aperion gives you as well as great customer service. I havnt heard the Aperion speakers, but with a free 30 day trial period you have nothing to lose with auditioning them.

James

[Yeti2003]

I bought 3 Aperion speakers for my front left,right, and center and I really enjoyed them. They seemed to shine more on movies than music but I watch movies about 80% of the time. In the end, I returned them because the girlfriend didn't like the "shiny" black look. Personally, I think the speakers looked amazing and appeared to be well built.

I'd say audition the Aperion's for 30 days and try and audition a set of the B&Ws from a local dealer. Aperion will pay for the shipping to return the speakers if you don't like them (unlike other 30 day internet speaker dealers).

Good luck!